The Art of Work: A Proven Path to Discovering What You Were Meant to Do

like I was doing my best. But it wasn’t. I was confusing my
understanding of ability with what was actually possible.
For many of us, there is a fundamental problem with our
understanding of our own capabilities. We are often
exceeding our own expectations of ourselves. And in spite
of the evidence pointing to the contrary, we continue to
believe in the Myth of Talent, that some people are born a
certain way, that we cannot rise above our circumstances
and achieve something greater than we’ve ever done before.
When we do this, we deceive ourselves.
I gave up playing the saxophone before pushing myself
to the limits of my ability. I know this, because when I
started playing guitar the same thing happened. After six
months of “trying,” I wanted to quit, but this time my dad
wouldn’t let me. Whenever I would get into trouble, he
would ground me from all activities except playing the
guitar. “If you want to listen to music,” he would say,
“you’ll have to play it yourself.” Sure, I was being
disciplined for whatever wrong I had committed, but he was
also putting me in a position that forced me to grow, and it
worked. After only months of practicing, of pushing
through that six-month dip, I was playing the riffs I had
grown up listening to, better than I ever thought possible.
Surely the same has happened to you. At some point you
did something you didn’t believe you could do, something
that surprised you. Maybe a coach encouraged you or a
parent pushed you or in a moment of inspiration you
motivated yourself. But you dug a little deeper, increased